It’s easy to say you’ll always do the right thing, but your metal will be tested when doing the right thing opposes your will … or the way you’ve always done it … or if it means loss to you.

The journey of life is a series of choices your will must make.  It really all boils down to whose will wins; yours or God’s.  God has clarified His Will in His Word.  Knowing the Lord and His Word is the biggest step to living a life that pleases Him.  Then, receive His grace to do His will in every little decision of life, especially when you want to do it your way.  His Spirit and His Word will be talkin’ to you.

… is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”  2 Tim. 3:16

Many seem to live on “Survival Bible” ie. squeaking by with a minimum of scripture reading, or randomly opening the Bible and dropping your finger on a verse, or relying solely on the key scriptures from your pastor’s Sunday sermon.

Gotcha!

To quote Joshua, “This book of the law SHALL NOT depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate THEREIN day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to ALL that is written therein: for then shalt thou make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”  Josh. 1:8  (KJ)

This Thursday, August 13th, you can begin reading or listening through the entire Bible in a year with me.  We will begin with Genesis chapter one.  Please join me.

“Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, THEY ARE PRECIOUS IN HIS SIGHT.”

So goes a song I learned in Sunday School in the 1950s.

Luke records Jesus to have said that we are worth more than a flock of sparrows, each one of which God watches closely. Peter describes us as God’s purchased possession. Zechariah declares that God protects us as the “apple of His eye.”

Christ gave the greatest indication of your worth when He gave His life to redeem you from your sin.

Take care, you are VALUABLE.

DAILY PRAYER:  Lord, grace me today to give my life to You in ways that please You.  You paid the greatest price for my salvation.

DAILY READING:  Luke 12

John, to whom the Revelation was given, described the New Jerusalem as needing no light because the Lord God will shine so brightly that there will be no night, and no need for a candle or the light of the sun.

Jesus declared in His ministry that He was the light of the world, and that His followers were likewise lights that shine in darkness.  In fact, we are known as “Children of the Light.”

In contrast, His enemies love darkness, the absence of light.

DAILY PRAYER:  Lord, grace us to work daily to build Your Kingdom while we still have light.

DAILY READING:  Phil. 2

Jesus instructed His disciples, when they prayed, to say, “Hallowed be Thy name.”  God would not let Moses into the promised land because he did not “Sanctify the Lord’s name.”  At the waters of Meribah, he struck the rock instead of speaking to it for water to come out. To hallow the Lord’s name means to sanctify His name.  If Moses would have only spoken to the rock, God would have caused water to come out.  For us to hallow His name, we merely need to remove the “h” of hallow (the “h” for human) and simply “allow” God to do it.

When we allow Him to do it, He gets the glory.

DAILY PRAYER:  Lord, we want to sanctify Your name today.  Show Your power through us.

DAILY READING:  Matt. 6

All the compaound names of God in the Old Testament described what He would do or be to His peole.  We hallow His name when we “allow” Him to do it, through prayerfully asking Him.

A verse that changed my life is Prov. 8:34 … “Blessed is the man that hears Me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.”  Some key elements to this verse are watching and waiting daily.  The walk of faith can only get stronger when we feed our spirit man on a daily basis.  Whomever you feed daily will get stronger, and whomever you starve will get weaker.

I encourage you to try listening to God’s Word on a daily basis by using the audio Bibles available on Biblegateway.com … I have done this for nearly the past year. It has been so refreshing and helpful.

Paul said we truly receive God’s Spirit as we hear with faith, responding and believing what we hear from His Word.  [Gal. 3:2]

Get some headphones and plug in!

DAILY PRAYER:  Father in heaven, wake me up early every day to hear more of Your voice.

DAILY READING:  Prov. 8, Gal. 3

Upon reading the Revelation, we clearly see that God knows what will happen in the days to come.  He wants us to know that, even though we don’t necessarily understand all that is described by John.

God always gives us what we really need to adequately live lives that are acceptable to Him.  It’s His grace, which is the concluding word of the entire Bible.  Amen.

DAILY PRAYER:  Father, thank You for Your grace that empowers and sustains us in all that we do.  By Faith and Grace, we can face the future with confidence.  We bless and praise You.

DAILY READING:  Rev. 22

John saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.  He heard a loud voice coming from the throne saying, “The old order of things is passed away.

The longer we live on this earth and watch the morals of our society slide away from the Lord’s ways, we ask Him what’s going on.  His Word reminds us that He is still in control, and that He is preparing to straighten it all out.

It’s good to be on the Lord’s side.

DAILY PRAYER;  Lord, we trust You and Your plan for the end of this age.  We just want to be with You for eternity.  We look forward to the New Jerusalem, and being a resident there. 

DAILY READING:  Rev. 21

The fate of all whose names are not written in the Book of Life is to be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where continual torment will happen forevermore.

It is our mission to give the good news of the opportunity people have to avoid this fate by accepting Christ.  if they do, their name is written in God’s book.  With such gruesome consequences described for those who reject Jesus, we must do what we can to share the hope we have found in Christ.

Today is the day of salvation if people won’t harden their hearts.

DAILY PRAYER;  Lord, when I meet a lost one, give me the right words to say.  I want to witness about Your plan of salvation.

DAILY READING:  Rev. 20